Sonntag, 25. Juni 2017

Besh Barmag Bird Migration Counts 4-18 November 2017

You
have probably heard about Batumi Raptor Count in Georgia, but do you
know Besh Barmag in Azerbaijan? Where Batumi is situated at the western
end of the Caucasus, Besh Barmag is its counterpart at the eastern end. A
bottleneck for migrating birds between the Caucasus mountains and the
Caspian Sea that is just being explored, at the easternmost edge of the
Western Palaearctic. Join us!
Besh Barmag is situated 90km north of
the capital Baku and is one of the most impressive migration watch
points in the Western Palearctic but still hardly known to European
birders. Millions of passerines, up to 150.000 Little Bustards, tens of
thousands of herons, Pygmy Cormorants, waterfowl and waders, thousands
of Dalmatian Pelicans and also a great variety of raptors (up to 20
species in a day) pass the narrow coastal plain each season. The site
offers great birding possibilities with a wide natural steppe, woodlands
full of resting passerines and great views over the Caspian Sea and the
Caucasus foothills. Some possible species in early November: Lesser
White-fronted Goose, Pygmy Cormorant, Ferrugineus Duck, Ruddy Shelduck,
Great White Egret, Dalmatian Pelican, Black Vulture, Imperial Eagle,
Steppe Eagle, Great Spotted Eagle, Golden Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Hen
Harrier, Saker, Peregrine, Long-legged Buzzard, Little Bustard,
Dotterel, Pallas´s Gull, interesting Larus complex, Black-bellied
Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, White-winged Lark,
Oriental Skylark, Richards Pipit, Asian Buff-bellied Pipit, Caspian
Stonechat, Moustached Warbler, Mountain Chiffchaff, Red-breasted
Flycatcher, Penduline Tit, Pine Bunting. Good chance of eastern vagrants
with eg Taiga Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Warbler, Dusky Warbler, Little
Bunting and Isabelline Shrike seen. Now is your chance to join us
for one or two weeks of low-cost birding adventure and exciting
migration studies during 4-18 November 2017! We will stay in a small
hotel nearby and do daily counts at the watch point and in the process
also train young Azeri naturalists in bird identification and counting
skills. There will also be additional excursions to other areas like the
Greater Caucasus or the famous Shirvan National Park, both of which are
a few hours drive away. You buy your own air ticket (f.ex. Turkish Airlines, starting from 250€ return trip from many European cities, see www.thy.com
) and online tourist visa (80€) and on site we share transport,
accommodation and food. Total cost per person an estimated 700€ for one
week and 950€ for two weeks. Interested? Contact leader Kai Gauger kai_gauger@yahoo.de and read more about previous birding trips to Besh Barmag at our web www.birdingaze.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/BirdingAze

We are a small group of birders regularly vistiting Azerbaijan. In this blog we will post news about birding activities between the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.Working in Azerbaijan for years, we had numerous first records and could update the status of many species. But as hardly any western birders visited the country yet, every trip is still exciting and produces new fascinating observations. We hope that in the future more birdwatchers will visit this great hotspot of biodiversity and join our community.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters at Lake Sarisu, by Kai Gauger

Send us your data! If you go birding in Azerbaijan, we are interested in your observations. An online data base is available now. For more information and if you need tips for organising a successful tour, please contact us at birdingaze "at" yahoo.com.

Azerbaijan links

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